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I received a question from a Congregant forwarded by our Rabbi. I hesitate to bring this to this august body, but I have exhausted my sources. Here is an edited version of the query:

Is there a halachic reason that there is no Kosher boxed wine on the market? Is there something about a boxed wine or the plastic container that prevents kosher wine from being stored in there?

I couldn't find any available, and I couldn't come up with a Halachic reason that it wasn't possible. The basis of the question is storage, and I can advise on how to prolong that, but I can't answer the basic questions. I appreciate any insight.

Why should it be a kashrus issue (which it isn't)? Why not just because wine is a commodity with a supply and a demand, and the demand is not yet for bag-in-box, as it is not for canned wine, or kegged wine. If hamburger and pizza joints would all have wine-and-beer licenses, and do a brisk business in vin ordinaire, then there would be bag-in-box wines in a big way. However, wine is not yet the preferred beverage of everyman, especially the Jewish ones. And there are few enough wine consumers among the kosher-keepers that it just doesn't make sense to tool up for it.

Indeed - there is ZERO issue. I personally asked the Herzog why they did not make them for much of their basic wines? I cannot talk to the environmental issues or the such, but it may be a cost issue initially, but that would be recouped over time. I guess in the end, it is the perceived lack of warm reception. Until someone tries it out and pays the cost and than gains traction, we will not see one.

On the - I learn something new every day - Adam Montefiore emailed me this response - WOW I did not know that Carmel had made boxed wines!

Carmel produced boxed wine until 5 or 6 years ago. 3 liter boxes. No problem with being Kosher. We stopped producing them because the quality was not up to the new standards required by the company. No plans to reintroduce them at this stage.

Thanks Adam for checking in and keeping us honest - please post as well soon. I am sure that Robin can help if it is a login issue. Otherwise, I and others, I am sure, are always appreciative of your input!

Part of the reason for the lack of boxed wine may have to do with the fact that the kosher consumers in the U.S. are heavily concentrated in the New York area. In New York supermarkets are not allowed to sell wine. Coupled with the fact that liquor stores are often to classy to stock boxed wine, it would be essentially inaccessible to a large share of the kosher market.

Craig Winchell wrote:Why should it be a kashrus issue (which it isn't)? Why not just because wine is a commodity with a supply and a demand, and the demand is not yet for bag-in-box, as it is not for canned wine, or kegged wine. If hamburger and pizza joints would all have wine-and-beer licenses, and do a brisk business in vin ordinaire, then there would be bag-in-box wines in a big way. However, wine is not yet the preferred beverage of everyman, especially the Jewish ones. And there are few enough wine consumers among the kosher-keepers that it just doesn't make sense to tool up for it.

Hi Craig! I miss my Gan Eden....

I couldn't IMAGINE it being a kashrus issue, and stated as much to the person asking the question - but I like to verify things before I state them authoritatively.

I should have also stated that it turns out to be a storage issue for my fellow congregant. Apparently, they mainly use wine for cooking purposes. I advised her on proper storage techniques that would extend the life of the wine, at least for said cooking purposes.

I agree on the desirability of boxed wine for MY use, however I won't be too surprised if it does appear at some point. One of the greatest wine shocks I ever suffered was finding boxed wine in a market in the French Alps.

Mark, you may be in luck. I may be bottling some of the 2010 Agua Dulce wines (different blends, however) as GAN EDEN, and have reached agreement to do so. However, getting the stuff bottled and labelled and out in time for Pesach may remain an elusive quest, given that labels must be designed and then printed. Still, I am hopeful that the wine can be bottled in December. The operative word is "hopeful". Eventually, the desire is to purchase fruit in addition to what is grown here, and get back up to the production levels of the former iteration (which would again place me second largest in CA after Herzog. The problem is again developing avenues of distribution.

David Raccah wrote:Thanks Adam for checking in and keeping us honest - please post as well soon. I am sure that Robin can help if it is a login issue. Otherwise, I and others, I am sure, are always appreciative of your input!

Indeed! Get in touch with me by private message or Email and I'll gladly work it out.